English Language Roots

Word Prefixes, Suffixes & Syllables

Welcome to PrefixSuffix.com! We improved our
chart-based site,
adding features such as a
root word search engine
which gives you access to over 2,000 root words, making our site one of the most
comprehensive online references of English language word roots. Also, now you can take
it with you on your iPhone! Introducing the
PrefixSuffix iPhone App.

The left-side menu has selections that you can use to learn more about
root words, and it also provides two teaching games,
Rooty and
Meany,
both of which will test your knowledge and
improve your vocabulary. Check "our references" and "other sites"
sections for related, helpful links.

A Really Quick Primer

Because you came here, you know already that a word whose
meaning you don't know can be broken down into smaller parts and analyzed, a
mental process students go through for vocabulary tests. The core part of such
an analysis is to identify root words that hint at the word's overall meaning.

As an example, take the word "introspect." It is broken down into the root
"spect,"
meaning to look, and the prefix "intro," which adds the meaning "within."
So, "look within." See how easy that was?

If you are interested in more word study, you can read this site's brief write-ups on:

We hope you like our recent improvements. If PrefixSuffix.com has helped you and you
would like to help support it continued existence, we'll humbly point out the
support buttons to the left. Thank you!